Abstract

Trypanosomosis is a chronic haemo-protozoal disease, which is a barrier to livestock and agricultural production. A cross-sectional study with the aim of determining prevalence rate of bovine trypanosomosis and risk factors was carried out from April 2016 to November 2017 in the Mao Komo district in the Benishangul-gumuz, Ethiopia. Buffy coat followed by thin blood smear technique were employed to identify the species of the trypanosomes. Out of total 384 cattle examined, 18 were infected with trypanosomes with the overall prevalence of 4.69%. High prevalence of Trypanosoma congolense was recorded in the area (65.7%) followed by Trypanosoma vivax and Trypanosoma brucei. The study revealed that there was statistically significant difference (p<0.05) of the prevalence in cattle with body condition. This is explained as there was higher prevalence of the diseases in cattle with poor body condition than medium and good body condition. Relatively higher prevalence was found in females and adult animals, and Fafafa peasant association but there was no significant (p>0.05) difference between the variables. In conclusion, bovine trypanosomosis is prevalent disease which has been negatively affecting livestock production in the study area. Therefore, strategic disease prevention and control programme is mandatory to improve livestock health and production in the study area.

Key words: Buffy coat, cattle, thin blood smear, Benishangul-Gumuz, trypanosomosis.